I must admit: Up until this year I didn’t think much about our national parks.
As a person who appreciates nature, but often stays clear of destinations that draws large crowds, the national parks fell roughly between “meeting Danny DeVito” and “petting a sloth” on my bucket list. (Meaning “nice-to-haves,” not “must-haves.”)
That all changed this summer when a I traveled 5500 miles by car across the great United States of America simply because I’m terrified of flying. And when I say terrified, I mean the last time I took a flight — 3 years ago — I had:
- Two Xanax
- Three cocktails
- One activity tracker that kept telling me my heart rate was over 200 beats per minute.
- The realization that I was not going to die because of a plane crash but because of a massive heart attack.
Ever since that day, I swore off flying and have strictly traveled by car or train. (You can read about my train travels here.)
So when my mother, a citizen of New York, (more…)